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Israel detains 6-year-old Palestinian in Hebron

Israeli forces can be seen arresting a Palestinian child [Taimoor Ul Haq/Facebook]

December 13, 2018 at 12:53 pm

Israeli occupation forces seized a six-year-old Palestinian child in Hebron, the occupied West Bank, and detained him without family members for an hour, reported B’Tselem.

The incident took place on 25 November, at around 2pm, when Israeli forces seized 15-year-old ‘Abd a-Rahman Abu Daoud, and six-year-old Zeid Taha.

Both children were then taken to so-called “Pharmacy Checkpoint” in the segregated city. Abu Daoud was then transferred to Ofer Prison and ultimately sentenced to three months in prison.

Zeid, meanwhile, was moved to two further checkpoints, before being handed over to Palestinian Authority police.

"The policemen took me & shut in a room for an hour. I cried & the soldiers cursed me. Then they put me into a white car. I heard the other boy who was arrested with me asking a woman soldier where they were taking us–she answered, ‘To prison.’" -6-year-old Zeid Taha, Hebron. pic.twitter.com/N832rE166r

His mother – Falestin Taha, 26, a married mother of three – told B’Tselem: “I couldn’t have imagined that the military would arrest such a young boy. I was shocked and terribly worried. I kept imagining Taha all alone with armed Israeli soldiers.”

According to the mother, “Zeid is still very scared and anxious. He’s not ready to be apart from me even for a moment. He isn’t even willing to sleep in his own bed. He sleeps holding on to me.”

B’Tselem added that “this is not the first time that Israeli security forces have illegally detained a child below the age of criminal responsibility.”

“It is inconceivable that armed police officers hold a young child, all alone, for any period of time and without even informing his parents,” the group added. “The fact that Israeli authorities believe that this conduct is acceptable speaks volumes as to the moral blindness afflicting them.”

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